Out of the Dark
by Katie Dazuru
Summary: Kellyn didn't really know what he was expecting when he moved to Almia, but a hilarious and annoyingly cute best friend, a deceivingly sassy best friend, and an evil organisation determined to take over the world were not at the top of his list. RangerSchoolshipping.
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is basically a re-write of that questionable "Out of the Dark" Shadows of Almia story I tried to write some time last year or something.**

 **I'm not really sure how consistent my updates will be, but I'm determined to _not_ abandon this (or wait like a year before posting another chapter).**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Out of the Dark**

* * *

It was warm.

At least, that was the first thing that went through his mind when the boat reached its destination. There were barely any clouds in the sky, allowing the sunlight to rain down. It was definitely warmer than Wintown, but Kellyn was pretty sure almost _anywhere_ was warmer than Wintown.

With a smile, he departed the ship with his backpack thrown over one shoulder and his suitcase in his other hand. As he reached solid ground, a soft, sea breeze began to blow, ruffling his hair gently. He turned, scanning his surroundings (and narrowly dodging an apparently very busy, very frustrated passenger who almost knocked him over). Tugging at his backpack strap, he started to make his way away from the ship and towards the bustling town ahead. It was a relatively short walk to what he guessed was the edge of the town – _Pueltown_ , he reminded himself, catching sight of a map with the town's name clearly emblazoned on it – as the buildings suddenly ended and it transformed into a thick forest.

Kellyn paused, making sure his suitcase was standing upright before twisting his backpack around to the front (he guessed, amused, that this was probably why the strap was so worn and looked like it was about to break) and unzipping it. He tugged out a map, grimacing as he noticed the various creases, but it was still legible, so it wasn't too bad. Muttering to himself, he decided that he was most likely at the entrance to Vien Forest, a large expanse of trees that separated Pueltown from its closest neighbouring town of Vientown. Folding the map up and shoving it into his pocket (there was no point in putting it back in his backpack, because he might need it again), he swung the backpack around and slipped his arm through the other strap, making sure it was secure, and grabbed for his suitcase before making his way into the dense forest.

Luckily, it wasn't as bad as Lyra Forest, because there wasn't a maze that he had to make his way through. He watched, smiling, as a group of combees buzzed past him, before his attention flickered over to a buizel and a wartortle playing around in the river. As he made his way across the bridge over the river, he frowned as it creaked slightly at his weight, but it wasn't anything too concerning. It was an extremely vibrant forest, he noted, as a flock of taillows soared overhead, and very lively. His train of thought slowed as he heard the sound of people talking, and then the faint cry of what he guessed was a miltank. With a smile, the speed of his pace increased slightly, and before he knew it, he was stepping out of the forest and into a town. It certainly wasn't as busy as Pueltown, but there were still various people walking around (though it was mostly elderly people and hyperactive kids), and it reminded him faintly of Ringtown.

Kellyn stared, before remembering why exactly he was even there, and stopped again. He dug into his pocket, pulling out the map, and studied it for a moment. He glanced up, trying to determine where exactly he was in Vientown, but it made little sense (well, he had never been that good at reading maps anyway, so it wasn't surprising). With a frown, he folded it up and put it back in his pocket. He caught sight of an elderly woman, cheerily talking to some combee, and nodded to himself.

"Um, excuse me?" he spoke up as he approached her. She turned to him with a toothy grin.

"Hello, dear!" she greeted, and the combee buzzed happily, evidently mimicking her happy mood. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I…I'm new here, and I'm wondering, uh, if you know where the Ranger School is?" he stumbled over his words slightly. He wasn't normally like this, but he guessed it was because he wasn't used to Almia yet – because, after all, he'd only lived in one region his entire life.

"It's so lovely to see a child doing something to help the world," the elderly woman remarked, before she motioned in the direction of another path that headed into a bunch of trees. "Just follow that path there, dear. It's a straight line to the school."

"Oh, uh, thank you," he smiled, only just remembering not to forget his manners, before waving at her slightly and making his way in that direction.

He faintly heard her response of "you're welcome", or something along those lines, before he was walking down yet another forest-y road. It definitely wasn't as long as his trek through Vien Forest, as it wasn't long until he reached a bridge that stretched over a large expanse of water. He hummed thoughtfully, staring at it for a moment, before moving forward to walk across it. His footsteps echoed solidly as he made his way across. The sound of water filled his ears, and Kellyn couldn't hear the sound of the wind rustling the trees as much anymore.

As he reached the end of the bridge, there were still trees to his right, but to his left he saw a tall, solid wall. He smiled, directing himself so he was walking up against the wall. He placed a hand on it, letting it slide across as he moved forward. A minute later he reached a tall, metal gate. Kellyn paused, brows furrowing, and forgot just how he was supposed to get inside.

"Hey, you're Kellyn, right?"

The voice startled him, and he nearly dropped the handle of his suitcase. His gaze flickered over to a man, his face somewhat shadowed by a blue cap, who was smiling at him. He nodded, before realising that he was supposed to speak.

"Uh, yeah, that's me," he confirmed.

With a sharp nod (though if it was for Kellyn or for himself, Kellyn wasn't sure), the man moved forward and unlocked the gate. He tugged it open just enough so Kellyn himself could slip through, before closing and locking it behind him. The man smiled at him, and motioned with his head to follow him up the stairs in front of them. Kellyn complied, almost effortlessly lifting up his suitcase and carrying it all the way up.

"I'm Mr. Kaplan, just for future reference," the man introduced himself with a bright smile, and it was strangely welcoming and made Kellyn feel a little bit more at ease. "I'll be testing your capturing ability."

He nodded. He'd known, even before applying, that he'd have to go through this sort of entrance exam.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Kellyn paused for a moment, looking up in awe at the giant building that loomed over them. It was one thing to read about it, he noted, but it was another thing entirely to see it. He heard Mr. Kaplan chuckling, probably at his expression, before Kellyn noticed that the man was walking towards the small building closer by. He jogged slightly in order to catch up, but when they got there, Mr. Kaplan instructed him to leave his belongings outside.

"Can't have any cheaters, you know!" he commented cheerily, and Kellyn wondered just how someone could cheat with a backpack and a suitcase, but he complied anyway, setting his belongings down in the shadow of the building, before following the man through a pair of automatic doors.

Their footsteps echoed slightly, and Kellyn realised that the inside was a lot bigger than he'd expected. His brows lifted as he studied the room, even twisting around to inspect the walls.

A soft cry was what brought his attention back to Mr. Kaplan. Next to the man was a small, yellow pokemon, which he had no trouble in identifying as a pikachu. Its red cheeks sparked, and it let out another cry as it scampered slightly towards him.

"Hey," Mr. Kaplan exclaimed, loud enough to bring his attention from the pokemon. The man chucked something at him, and he caught it just before it went flying over his head. Glancing down at it, he recognised it instantly as one of the school's capture stylers.

 _Cool._

"So, kid," Mr. Kaplan crossed his arms over his chest, and motioned with a nod of his head, "let's see what you've got."

And with a bright grin, Kellyn pointed the capture styler at the pokemon, pressed a button, and the top went flying out.

This, at least, was something he knew how to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**(jazz hands)**

 **Ayyyyyy, chapter two! Some of this dialogue was basically me trying to remember what the heck the actual dialogue was in the game.**

 **I'm not sure how long it'll take me to write chapter three, but since I've started this I'm pretty determined to see it through to the end (not matter how long it takes).**

 **(...though, considering how I'm writing at the moment I'm pretty sure this is going to be one annoyingly long story)**

* * *

Having just finished capturing the pikachu, and watching on in confusion as Mr. Kaplan started to cackle about some secret, inscrutable school (that, for a moment, made him wonder just what exactly he had gotten himself into), he was startled as the doors suddenly opened behind him, a loud, female voice echoing throughout the room.

"Mr. Kaplan, please don't tease my student like that." There was the sound of high heels on the wooden floor, and Kellyn turned to look behind him. He was met with the sight of a tall woman, with brown hair and intelligent eyes, smiling down at him. "You must be Kellyn, correct? I'm Ms. April; I'll be your teacher here."

"Ms. April!" Mr. Kaplan seemed panicked for a moment, before he coughed sharply. "Uh, as I was saying: you passed our entrance exam with flying colours! That really was an amazing capture, Kellyn. Maybe the best one I've ever seen here."

Ms. April laughed lightly at that. "Don't let Keith hear you say that," she advised the man, and Kellyn wondered just who this "Keith" was. Was he another student? Ms. April placed a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Follow me, Kellyn. I'll direct you to our dorms so you can drop off your belongings."

"Uh, right, yes, thanks," he responded, stumbling over his words, and tensed his shoulders as his face flushed in embarrassment. What was _with_ him today?

Ms. April laughed softly, motioning to the door. Heeding the unspoken command, Kellyn nodded slowly before making his way over, followed closely by the brunette teacher. The doors slid open with a quiet hiss, and Ms. April brushed past him to walk outside. He put one foot out, before turning quickly to give Mr. Kaplan a smile and a small wave.

The man smiled brightly. "Enjoy your school life, Kellyn!"

And as if on cue, the giant bell on the roof of the massive building began to chime.

The school was even bigger on the inside. He walked a few steps behind the teacher, their footsteps echoing in the wide, empty hallway, but he could faintly hear talking in the rooms on either side of him. He followed Ms. April, sighing quietly when he again had to heave his suitcase up yet another flight of stairs. Ms. April stopped at the top with a smile, before directing him to one of the two doors in the room. The blue one he guessed was the boy's dorm, whilst the pink was most likely the girls.

The blue door slid open with a small scrape of wood on wood, and he scanned the room for any free space. He caught side of the bed just to his left, one that looked completely untouched, and a quick check around the bed told him that it was indeed free. He pulled his suitcase to a stop by the bedside, before slipping his backpack off his shoulders and letting it fall onto the bed. He paused, brows furrowing, before realising that he was still holding his school styler in his hands. He briefly berated himself, shaking his head at his own forgetfulness, before holstering it. He exited the dorm with another smile, and Ms. April nodded before leading him back down the stairs again.

"…I forgot to tell my students you were coming," she commented with a half-worried expression. She looked down at him. "I'm sorry. Your arrival is probably going to be a bit rowdier than a normal one would."

"It's fine," he responded with a shrug. The two of them turned a corner, before Ms. April came to a stop and turned around.

"Wait here," she instructed, her voice firm, and Kellyn stopped immediately. She gave him a smile he guessed was supposed to be comforting, before turning to open the door. "Good morning, class!"

There was an explosion of noise that made Kellyn reel back slightly with a wince. It was followed by a harsh shushing sound from Ms. April.

"Sorry for being late, but there was a matter I had to take care of." There was a pause, and Kellyn shifted so he could lean against the wall. "I didn't tell you before, but there's someone new who's joining our class today."

"Is it a guy? Or a girl? Which is it?" A female voice piped up.

"Are they cool? Cute? Or do they look like a celebrity?"

Kellyn stifled a laugh. _Wow_. What kind of question was that?

"You'll have to see for yourself," Ms. April replied, and he could hear the laughter in her voice. "Come on in!" she called, her voice increasing in volume as she addressed him.

Exhaling quietly, Kellyn pushed off the wall, reached forward, and pulled open the door. There was a rustle of movement, but other than that it was unnervingly silent. Clenching his free hand unconsciously, the brunet stepped into the room and quickly made his way over to where Ms. April was standing. Upon reaching her side, he spun on his heel and crossed his arms over his chest on instinct. His gaze flickered to the floor, then to the door, and then finally to Ms. April. Evidently sensing his unease, she smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder lightly.

"This is Kellyn. He's joining our school to become a Pokemon Ranger," she explained. "I expect _all of you_ ," Kellyn's stare became a mixture of confused and wary as the teacher's voice grew stern for a split second, "to treat him nicely."

He glanced over to the right-hand side of the class. A young boy and two girls stared back at him. He swallowed lightly, growing increasingly uncomfortable under their blank stares, until the girl closest to him, the one with puffy blonde hair, smiled at him. Something in his chest seemed to loosen, and he felt a bit more at ease.

"Now, about your seat…" Ms. April's flickered over to the left-hand side of the room. Her expression seemed to freeze, and Kellyn watched as it became a mixture of incredulous and questioning. "…What is it, Keith? Why the big grin?"

Kellyn's gaze snapped over to the left, and his blue eyes met brown. A redheaded boy sat a metre or two away from him. He was resting on his desk with his elbow, and was leaning on his hand with a grin that bordered more on a smirk than a smile. As their gazes met, the boy's – Keith's – eyes narrowed and his grin morphed into a smirk that promised trouble. In return, Kellyn narrowed his eyes right back.

Ms. April sighed next to him, though Kellyn wasn't sure if it was because she had noticed their silent exchange or if she had just been watching the redhead. "Kellyn, you can sit next to Keith."

The brunet frowned as the boy's – Keith, _god dammit_ , he reminded himself – expression became smug, and an uneasy sense of dread settled in his gut. He slowly walked forward and quickly sat himself down in the empty chair.

Ms. April clapped her hands together, startling him (and Keith, he noted, as he caught sight of the redhead jumping at the abrupt noise). "And that's it for treating you like a new student. From here onwards, you're all my students who I take pride in teaching." She paused, and then smiled. "As for today, it'll be a free lesson."

An extremely quiet " _yes"_ was hissed somewhere to Kellyn's right.

Ms. April turned to the blonde that Kellyn had been looking at before. "Rhythmi, would you mind showing Kellyn around the school? He hasn't had enough time for proper introductions, and the last thing we need is a new student getting lost around school."

"I'd be happy to," the girl – Rhythmi – replied cheerily, her voice light and friendly.

Ms. April nodded, before making her way towards the door and out of the classroom. Kellyn looked on nervously, and cringed when a cacophony of chairs screeching on a wooden floor reached his ears. He immediately found himself surrounded, and, in an attempt to calm himself, got to his feet.

"Hey, new kid," a voice started, and Kellyn's eyes narrowed as he turned to look at Keith. The redhead was grinning and had crossed his arms over his chest. "How long did it take you to capture pikachu? An hour?"

He opened his mouth, a retort on the tip of his tongue, when a voice rose on the other side of him. "Keith, don't be mean!" The voice he had come to know as Rhythmi defended him, and Kellyn allowed himself to be turned around to face her. "You should be paying attention to me anyway. My name's Rhythmi, but I'm not here to become a ranger. I want to become an operator."

 _Operator. Works with rangers in order to guide them in the field and have the ability to recharge a ranger's styler_. The explanation came to him without much thought.

"That means when I graduate, I can order rangers like _Keith_ around like my servant," Rhythmi continued, smiling innocently despite the mischievous tone her voice had taken on. Kellyn found himself smiling in amusement.

" _Hey!_ "

"Anyway, we should start our tour. You've already met our teacher: Ms. April. She's nice enough, but if you make her mad…watch out." That small piece of advice was sort of unsettling, but somehow extremely amusing at the same time, so Kellyn decided to just nod and keep a neutral expression. Rhythmi beamed at him, before grasping his wrist and tugging him towards the door. "Come on! You can talk to the others later. Right now you're with Rhythmi amazing and informative school tour!"

He couldn't hold back his snort even if he'd tried. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Hey, new kid! Try not to get lost in the doorway!"

Kellyn turned sharply, furrowing his brows as he caught Keith's impish expression. He frowned slightly, before resorting to childishly sticking out his tongue. The muffled snickers of his new classmates and Keith's slightly surprised expression at his unexpected response made his frown flicker up into a grin for a moment.

If this Keith guy wanted to play, then he was game.


	3. Chapter 3

**9 months later,,, I retURN**

 **with very slow updates but still**

* * *

"Don't let Keith get to you," Rhythmi advised as she led Kellyn to one of the empty tables in the library. It was the last room in the building he hadn't been to – he'd already seen the Staff Room, the upstairs dormitories and the only other classroom down the hall from his own (along with meeting the other teacher in the school: Mr Kincaid, who, honestly, made him feel a bit uneasy and really needed to tone down on whatever hairspray he was using). The library had some kind of relaxing feel to it. He sat down quietly on the chair opposite Rhythmi's, and directed his full attention to her as she continued. "He may act like a total douchebag, but he doesn't mean any actual harm."

"Is he always like that to new students?" he asked, leaning forward to rest his elbow on the table as his gaze swept over his surroundings. There were surprisingly very few students in the library, and Kellyn watched in slight amusement as a chatting group of kids were firmly _shushed_ by the girl standing next to the door.

"Pretty much, though it's usually the newbies who want to be rangers that he picks on," Rhythmi responded with a shrug, before leaning back in her chair. "It's not important anyway. Where are you from? Not a lot of students join halfway through the school year."

"There was, uh, a bit of a problem with getting me into the program, considering I lived in Fiore before coming here. Wintown, I guess, to be more specific," he answered. And then, for a moment, he remembered his hometown with distinct clarity. He remembered the extremely cold winters and somewhat cool summers, and his family's weekly hikes into the Sekra Range. A frown tugged at his lips, a sudden pang of homesickness hitting him square in the chest. "It's…uh…a lot warmer here."

"Wintown? As in that town that was involved in that Go-Rock Squad incident a couple of years ago?"

The sudden, questioning voice made Kellyn jump, and he snapped his head to the side as a young boy made his way over to the table. Intelligent green eyes stared at him, waiting for him to respond.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," he responded uncertainly, startled at the boy's abrupt appearance.

The boy stared at him for a moment, seemed to realise his uncertainty, and smiled apologetically. "Sorry for scaring you," he apologised. "I'm Isaac. I'm a student from Mr. Kincaid's class."

"Kellyn," he introduced himself in turn, before Rhythmi leaned forward across the table in order to get closer to the two of them.

"Not in class again?" she asked curiously, and Kellyn realised that she was talking to Isaac. The blond boy's cheeks flushed slightly.

"Mr. Kincaid is advising that I do my own research, since I'm not going to be a ranger, operator or mechanic," Isaac replied with a shrug. At catching Kellyn's confused stare, he turned to the brunet and elaborated. "I'm actually planning on entering the field of science when I graduate."

"Yeah, Isaac's crazy smart, and you can usually find him here in the library," Rhythmi added with a smile.

Kellyn, unsure of how to respond, simply nodded. Rhythmi opened her mouth to continue speaking, when the distant sound of a bell chiming filled the library. The blonde paused, brown eyes flickering up to the ceiling for a moment, before her smile was blindingly bright again, and she got to her feet.

"That's the bell," she stated, motioning with her head that Kellyn should get to his feet as well. He did. "That means that we can go outside now, and the tour can continue!" Rhythmi quickly grasped his wrist and proceeded to tug Kellyn away. The brunet stumbled over his feet, barely managing to recover as Rhythmi kept walking.

There was the sound of laughter from behind them. "Be careful, Rhythmi. He's new, remember? It's not like the outside world is going anywhere."

* * *

As soon as the two of them walked out the front doors of the main school building, Rhythmi's grip on Kellyn's wrist finally relented. He grimaced, rubbing his slightly sore wrist, but quickly changed his expression when Rhythmi turned on her heel to look at him.

"I'm pretty sure you're familiar with the main outside area, right?" She asked – obviously rhetorically, because she kept on talking without waiting for his answer. "You've also met Mr. Kaplan in the training building." She motioned to the building to Kellyn's right and her left. "There's also Ms. Claire, but you'll get to know her over the course of the year," Rhythmi continued. She paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes in thought. Then, she snapped her fingers and pointed at him with a smile. "Hey, have you been to Ascension Square yet?"

Kellyn blinked. "What?"

Rhythmi giggled. "I'm taking that as a 'no'," she replied, before starting to walk away. "Follow me."

Kellyn did so, rapidly following the blonde as the two of them made their way across the yard and over to a stone staircase that Kellyn hadn't noticed early. He followed her down them, and upon reaching the bottom he found himself being cooled by a chilled sea breeze. Rhythmi took a few steps forward, until she was half-enveloped in the shadow cast by a huge structure that towered over them. He nonchalantly recognised it as the crest of the Rangers, as he took a few more steps forward so that he was closer to the ocean, standing just before a makeshift pier.

"This," Rhythmi's voice started up behind him, and Kellyn turned, "is Ascension Square, and this monument is the Pledge Stone." She gestured up to the huge structure, and Kellyn slowly made his way over to her. She smiled over at him. "They say if you make a firm pledge to each other with your friends here, it'll come true." At Kellyn's inquisitive expression, she shrugged. "At least, that's what Principal Lamont told me."

He hummed thoughtfully, turning his gaze back up to the massive monument, before he glanced down at the small set of stairs in front of him. Curious, he made his way up them, and Rhythmi followed behind him. The first thing that caught his attention was the set of engravements that marred the smooth stone, and he got onto one knee.

"What're these?" he asked.

"The engravings?" Rhythmi responded, her tone questioning. "They were put there by previous grad representatives of the Ranger School."

His gaze flickered over the different words and names. _Spenser? Elita?_ He knew those names. His brows furrowed, before he gave the air in front of his face a flat look as he mentally hit himself. Those two names were those of two Ranger Leaders in Fiore, one of which he had lived in the same town with. He snorted softly, shaking his head slightly, before he scanned the rest of the names. _Barlow_ and _Crawford_ were there as well.

"Anyway!" Rhythmi clapped her hands together, and Kellyn visibly jumped at the sheer volume of her voice. He quickly scrambled to his feet, narrowing his eyes and looking unimpressed when he recognised Rhythmi's expression to be one of poorly disguised amusement. "That concludes my super awesome and amazing tour!" she declared brightly, and her bubbly personality seemed contagious and Kellyn found himself sighing and shaking his head with a smile. "I hope we can be friends, Kellyn. You seem like a nice guy."

He laughed at that, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, gee, I'd like to think so," he joked.

Rhythmi huffed slightly and put her hands on her hips. "Hey, listen here-"

" _Oh dear, oh dear! Someone, please, help! Help!_ "

The sudden, terror-filled voice startled the both of them, and the two students turned their heads back towards the direction of the main building. Kellyn hesitated for all but two seconds before sprinting past Rhythmi and bounding up the stairs, though the echoed slap of shoes on stone behind him told him that the blonde wasn't too far behind.

They reached the top of the stairs at roughly the same time, and Kellyn jogged forward a few meters before being halted in his tracks as a bidoof scampered past him. His brows furrowed, blue eyes confused, as Rhythmi moved to his side. She took a look at the situation, and quickly saw the hurried movement of a woman in the centre of the year.

"Janice!" she called out, alerting Kellyn as she ran over to the caretaker. The brunet followed, though he had to dodge multiple bidoof in the process.

"They've gone mad!" the middle-aged woman blubbered, wringing her hands. "It…it was their feeding time, and I accidentally stepped on the leader bidoof's tail…"

"It'll be okay, Janice," Rhythmi soothed her by placing a hand reassuringly on her shoulder. She glanced over at Kellyn, who seemed to get what she was implying. "Kellyn will capture and calm down the bidoof and fix this whole mess."

Janice looked over at him, and Kellyn nodded at her with a bright smile as he readied his styler. His gaze darted all over the yard, and he bit the inside of his cheek. There was a blur of movement out of the corner of his eye, and Kellyn turned sharply and-

"Hey, I was wondering what all this ruckus was about!"

The appearance of a newcomer's voice distracted him enough that the bidoof he'd been aiming for scampered away, and he muttered under his breath before turning to the doors of the main school building.

"Keith!" Rhythmi recognised the newcomer immediately, and Kellyn watched, amused, in the corner of his eye how her expression went from surprised to annoyed in the span of just a few seconds. "This isn't just some game, you should help as well!"

Keith, that goddamn irritating redhead (that he was now going to be stuck sitting next to, Kellyn reminded himself), merely shrugged, seeming to focus more on Kellyn than Rhythmi or the surrounding chaos. "Hey, new kid, I forgot your name, but I challenge you!"

Disbelief struck him. His brows furrowed, and Kellyn threw out his arms. "Is this really the time to be challenging me?!"

In response, Keith crossed his arms over his chest and grinned. "What? Afraid to _lose_?"

An emotion surged through him; one he hadn't felt for a long time. The last time he'd felt something like this was when he and another kid from Wintown had decided that it would be a great idea to race and see who could get to the highest platform of the Sekra Range (or, at least, as high as they could go) fastest. He felt irritation. He felt determination. _He felt competitive._

 _He wanted to grind this jerk's ego into the ground._

"So, what do you say, new kid? Gonna take me up on my challenge?"

"Can't you at least make the effort to remember his name?" Rhythmi interrupted exasperatedly, looking as annoyed as Kellyn felt.

He paused for a moment, staring at Keith, before his expression became that of calm and composed, and then he smiled. He shrugged nonchalantly, and raised a brow. "Okay," was all he said.

And then he was off, sprinting across the yard after a group of raging bidoof. There was a bark of laughter from behind him, but it was lost moments later when his concentration narrowed down to that of the bidoof as he activated his styler. Kellyn swung his arm around, the top following his movements, and he simultaneously captured two bidoof. Nodding to himself, he turned on his heel to search for more of them, and a blur of movement to his left had him running in that direction.

Momentarily, his gaze flickered over to the other side of the yard, where Keith was also just finishing one of his own captures. The redhead turned, leaning back slightly as he dug his heel into the ground, before pushing off at a run in the complete opposite direction that he had been facing. His brown eyes shone with determination, something that Kellyn knew his own eyes currently mirrored.

He smiled, his vision shifting away. He zeroed in on another pair of bidoof and, again, quickly initiated a capture. A couple of loops, and the two bidoof had calmed down enough to trot towards the centre of the yard. A short scan of his surroundings confirmed that there were no more bidoof to be captured, and Kellyn reattached his school styler to his belt as he made his way back to Rhythmi and Janice. The caretaker still looked a bit flustered, but he could see the dawning sense of relief that slowly overcame her face. Rhythmi was shaking her head, but she was smiling, so that meant she wasn't too annoyed at his impromptu response to Keith's challenge.

"It's over," he reassured Janice once he got in range of speaking distance, and she smiled.

"Thank you so much – both of you," she said gratefully, acknowledging Keith when the redhead came to a stop next to Rhythmi, still grinning.

"I caught five," he announced, and then his face clouded, his eyes narrowing. "Which means you caught…uh…four."

 _Damn._

"Don't you even think about yelling your victory to the sky, Keith," Rhythmi warned him, jabbing a finger in his face as she frowned.

The redhead's response was a snort and a cocky grin. Again, Janice thanked the two of them for their help, before making her way over to the now-calm group of bidoof, and proceeded to lead them away. Kellyn watched, a smile tugging at his lips, a feeling of accomplishment rising in his chest. Sure, he'd lost the challenge, but he'd managed to help someone in need. Wasn't that part of what being a ranger was all about?

"But you know, I have to admit you surprised me." The sound of Keith's voice brought Kellyn's attention back to the two students beside him. He turned to look back, and couldn't help but feel suspicious at the impressed look on Keith's face. "You're actually pretty decent for a guy who just learned this stuff. Your name is Kellyn, right?"

"So you did know his name after all!" Rhythmi put one hand on her hip and used the other one to swat gently at the boy next to her. "Honestly, Keith, sometimes you're such a douche."

A raised brow and a smirk accompanied his response. "What can I say? It's part of my charm."

" _Oh my god,_ " Rhythmi replied, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

Kellyn looked between the two of them, shook his head with a smile, and huffed out a laugh. The sound, albeit quiet, was enough to cause Rhythmi to glance back at him. Something lit up in her eyes, and she took a step forward. Kellyn almost instinctively took a step back.

"Anyway, as I was saying before we were interrupted, _this_ finally concludes my super awesome and amazing tour!" Rhythmi clapped her hands together with a _smack_ that echoed slightly through the empty campus. "We're going to be great friends, Kellyn. I can feel it!"

"Whoa, hey, no, don't go being friends with her! Be friends with me!" Keith vehemently protested, bursting into the conversation. "It's not every day I find someone this much of a challenge!"

"That seems like a pretty selfish reason to want to be someone's friend, Keith!" Rhythmi argued, her hands back on her hips again.

"How is it selfish? We're at the _Ranger School_ , in case you forgot. I'm helping him with fieldwork!"

"The day you become someone's mentor is the day the world ends, Keith."

"Hey!"

"AHEM." Kellyn cleared his throat loudly. He took a step forward and placed one hand on each of their shoulders. "Don't I get a say in this? How about we're _all_ friends, okay?"

Rhythmi sighed lightly, before nodding with a smile. "That does seem like a better option."

Keith's reaction, while echoing the same response, was definitely a lot more unrestrained.

"Awesome!" The redhead swung an arm around his shoulders, and Kellyn stumbled at the heavy weight that suddenly settled on him. "Don't you worry. I'll tell you all there is about becoming an awesome Pokemon Ranger like myself."

"You're not a Ranger. We haven't graduated yet."

Keith waved him off. "Minor details."

Rhythmi sighed, and Kellyn spared her a glance. Her arms were crossed and she was shaking her head, but she was smiling all the same. She took a step forward to flick the redhead, who flinched backwards before taking his own step forward and opening his mouth-

The loud _clang_ of the school bell ruptured whatever semi-peaceful atmosphere they were in. Kellyn looked up at the towering building for a split second, before his attention was brought back to the two students in front of him as Rhythmi huffed out a laugh.

"Better get moving, Keith. I'm pretty sure Ms. April won't exactly be nice if you're late to class. Again."

She was met with an outraged sound. Keith lunged for her, but she merely laughed and spun on her heel as she dodged. Rhythmi gave Kellyn a smile and tilted her head in the direction of the school. "C'mon, Kellyn, class is starting! Wouldn't want you to be late for your first official class, right?"

" _Rhythmi!_ "

She laughed, dodging again as Keith made to grab her arm, and sprinted away. Keith stumbled forward slightly, paused, seemed to remember just where he was, and quickly followed. A spoken curse was lost to the breeze, and Kellyn shook his head before running after them. The grass crunched beneath his feet before it was replaced by the hollow sound of a wooden floor, and Kellyn quickly made his way back to the room he'd first been shown. There, holding open the door with a raised brow, a tapping foot, and a taunting smirk, was Keith.

"Come on, new kid!" he called, the sudden reversion back to that title making Kellyn a little irritated, but Keith at least had the decency to keep the door open as he approached, only letting it slide closed when the two of them ducked inside.

Ms. April had yet to appear, but that didn't stop Kellyn from taking his seat at his desk. He flopped down, crossing his arms as he leaned on his desk. His heart hammered in his chest and a smile bloomed on his face unconsciously, yet Kellyn jumped when something nudged against his leg. Keith had evidently sat down at his seat next to him, and was shooting him a bright grin. It was such a startling contrast from the attitude he'd first been given that Kellyn almost did a double-take.

Whatever he might have said was lost as the classroom door slid open and Ms. April stepped through – and as she made her way to the front of the class, he caught Rhythmi's gaze and her encouraging smile…and he was completely and utterly sure that this experience was going to be nothing shorter than _awesome_.


End file.
